Unfortunately for both the player and the football team, the speculation surrounding Tennessee’s Marcus Jackson is worse than initially feared.
A report surfaced Monday that Jackson had sustained an arm injury and would be sidelined for eight weeks or a little more. While the specific injury was correct, the timeline wasn’t as Butch Jones acknowledged Tuesday that the offensive lineman could miss the entire 2015 regular season.
The head coach added that the fifth-year senior could return for the very end of the regular season or the Vols’ bowl game should they qualify for one. This is Jackson’s final season of eligibility, meaning his career would be over if he never steps foot on the field again.
Jackson sustained the injury, believed to be a biceps tear, this past weekend. Regardless of the specifics, it’s a significant blow to the Vols’ line.
Last season, Jackson started all 12 games in which he played, missing only the Alabama game due to injury. All told, he’s started 17 games during his time in Knoxville, and was penciled in as UT’s starting left guard prior to the injury.
He was a Freshman All-American in 2011, and, as Wes Rucker explained, “took a healthy redshirt during the 2013 season in a move designed to help him and Vols in the long run.”